Year of the Spark: July 6th
by Sparky Army
Summary: John can't remove the makeup without help. The Year of the Spark continues!


_We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Though the Powers the Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you, and anyone might happen to read these works, agree. _

_And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some fun--and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!_

Note from the author (Chicky): John can't remove the makeup without help.

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**The Makeup**

by Chicky (Beach Chick)

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Elizabeth drummed her fingernails on the briefing room table as she eagerly awaited John's explanation. Everyone was filing out of the room, and Elizabeth asked John to stay behind to get more details about what happened to him off world. John had his famous deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on his face, and Elizabeth knew this was going to be interesting. When everyone had left the room, she asked him about what had happened.

"I well…this villager…"

"A woman I assume?" Elizabeth said teasing him.

"Yeah…she uh…well she…" Usually John didn't have a hard time finding his words, but he'd suddenly lost the ability to communicate coherently. He looked at Elizabeth nervously wondering how he was going to explain the lipstick-like stains on his neck and face. The teasing was bad enough from Rodney not to mention the smirks and chuckles he'd received from Ronon and Teyla over the last few hours.

He sighed finally deciding to spill and tell her exactly what happened. "She kissed me," he blurted out, "and now I can't get it off me!" He was very annoyed and at wits end. "Her makeup or whatever it was stained my face!" He was pacing the room now in front of where she was standing. "I don't know what I'm going to do!" He muttered.

"John."

"What?" he snapped. "Sorry," he apologized a second later not meaning to sound so harsh.

"John, just calm down."

"I am calm."

"No, you're not. What did Carson have to say? I assume he gave you a clean bill of health."

"Yes. He said the stains would eventually fade, but I'm annoyed as hell. Why was she even trying to kiss me? It's not like I did anything to encourage her."

Elizabeth did a good job hiding her smile as she said, "Maybe you just have that effect on women."

John scratched his head thinking about that for a second, but then he went back to pacing the room.

"Did you try makeup remover?" Elizabeth asked.

"Carson tried using something on me, but it didn't do much to help."

Elizabeth thought the extra strong makeup remover she had and said, "I might have something that can help you back in my room."

John stopped pacing and looked at her with such hopeful eyes that Elizabeth couldn't help but be drawn to his gaze.

"I'd try anything to get this off of me."

She immediately felt pity for him wash over her and gave him an encouraging smile. "All right**…**come with me," she said leaving the briefing room. John was right behind her.

About fifteen minutes later…

"That's cold," John admitted surprised as the cool liquid touched his skin. Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at his reaction. She was gently dabbing the remover onto a cloth and applying it to the red blotches that faintly resembled lip smears. She had him turn his head so she could better reach the spots on his neck, but he suddenly jerked away from her. Elizabeth tried to decipher the look on his face, and suddenly she recognized that look. Colonel John Sheppard was ticklish!

"Elizabeth, why are you grinning like that?"

"Like what?" She asked innocently. The cloth was still in her hand, but she made no further attempt to place it back on his skin.

"Like you just found out something and can't wait to share it."

"I just figured out that you're ticklish," she said proudly.

He sat up straighter and laughed out loud at her preposterous revelation. "I am not."

"Yes you are," she smirked at him.

"Am not."

"Are too," she replied.

"Am not," he said again.

Finally she decided to end their disagreement by proving him wrong. She took the cloth and quickly brought it up to the side of his neck. He gave a little yelp and jumped straight in the air. Laughter flooded out of his mouth, and Elizabeth laughed a long with him. It felt good to laugh. It was something they hadn't done in a while. Their eyes met, and they locked eyes for a few seconds. Elizabeth realized she was staring at him and broke the connection.

"It works," she said looking at the cloth still in her hand. John had been staring at her with just as much intensity as she had him and finally looked down.

"I can't believe it!" He said excitedly. John jumped up from where he was sitting to look in her mirror. The red marks were gone where Elizabeth had used the towel. He touched his neck and picked up his own cloth. Elizabeth handed him the remover, and it took him only a few seconds to scrub the makeup off his face. He washed his face off with cold water and turned to face her again. He was one hundred percent John Sheppard again.

"Thank you," he told her.

"You're welcome," she told him. "I'm glad I could help."

"Yeah…Rodney's going to be disappointed. He's not going to be able to get a kick out of my discomfort anymore."

"Was it that bad?" Elizabeth asked.

"You have no idea."

"I think we should pay him a visit now," Elizabeth said standing up.

John smiled at her and looped his arm through hers. "That's a great idea."

They put away the makeup remover and headed to Rodney's lab determined to annoy him as punishment for the way he tried John.

The End

AN: Feedback is love.


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